T&I News 9 2020...

T&I News 9 2020…

/ April 23, 2020 / 2 Comments / News

Beamish is now well into the second month of lockdown, though as followers of the museum’s social media will read, a very small cohort of staff are still active – not least as lambing season has brought about a good number of new arrivals! The site is also routinely inspected (daily) and security maintained. Site residents are also keeping the grass cut and running taps to ensure the water system is purged and remains fresh.

I thought I would post a few items that don’t quite fit into other areas (the blog currently being a retrospective and articles platform!), but which might be of interest…

The trams slumber in a very full tram depot – the opportunity having been taken to pack it full with everything on wheels, from plant to mowers!

Following the article on SHDC No.17, and completely by chance, a very rare colour photograph of the locomotive during its working years at Seaham came to light. Peter Doel has very kindly allowed its inclusion within the blog article (which I have updated) but I also include it here, for those who might have missed it.

In April 1960 Peter Doel took this exceptionally rare photograph of No.17 in colour. Peter was 13 at the time and recalled the weather conditions were very overcast. I am grateful to Peter for supplying this view which I have been able to add to the post retrospectively. Note the red bufferbeams and rods, black boiler bands and red-backed works plate. The locomotive still had two years work ahead of it at this time, despite already being 87 years old!

The Railway Herald has produced a very attractive supplement describing the restoration of former Beamish resident, J21 No.65033. Restoration of the locomotive has been started thanks to substantial funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, along with other funding streams. This is also enabling the NER bogie stores van, also once at Beamish, to be restored as an exhibition centre to accompany the locomotive at its future home at Kirby Stephen East. It is hugely gratifying to see the project underway and the Locomotive Conservation & Learning Trust succeeding in its aspirations to restore the locomotive, and an appropriate collection of rolling stock, for the public to enjoy. Beamish remains connected to the trust and tries to offer any support that may be useful – we will all enjoy seeing the NER 0-6-0 at Rowley Station for a visit in the not too distant future…

The article is available to download here: http://www.railwayherald.co.uk/uknews/bringing-the-past-to-life

The Trust’s website is worth a look too: http://www.lclt.org.uk/

The cover photo shows what we are missing out on at the moment – trams in service, taking visitors around the site under a blue sky…